Media witness return of U.S. airman killed in Afghanistan

DOVER, Del. -- For the first time since an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning war dead was lifted, the media witnessed the arrival Sunday of a service member killed overseas.

After receiving permission from family members, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware was opened for the media to observe the return of the flag-covered coffin carrying the body of 30-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va. Myers was killed April 4 near Helmand province, Afghanistan, when he was hit with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said.

Myers was a member of the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron with the Royal Air Force in Lakenheath, England, one of the bases the U.S. Air Force uses in the country. He was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery last year in recognition of his efforts in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Department of Defense said. The 17-minute ceremony began shortly after 11 p.m.

The military said Myers' wife was among those meeting the plane with other family members. They did not talk to reporters.

An eight-person, white-gloved team of U.S. Air Force personnel brought Myers' body off the 747 under clear, cool skies after a chaplain said a prayer.

The new Pentagon policy gives families a choice of whether to admit the press to ceremonies at Dover, home to the nation's largest military mortuary and the entry point to the U.S. for service personnel killed overseas.

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerDOVER, Del. -- A US Air Force 'Carry Team' remove the remains of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va. from an aircraft during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base. Myers was killed April 4 in Afghanistan, after being hit with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said.

Critics of the previous policy had said the government was trying to hide the human cost of war.

President Barack Obama had asked for a review of the ban, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that the blanket restriction made him uncomfortable. The administration will let families decide whether to allow photographs.

For example, if several caskets arrive on the same flight, news coverage will be allowed only for those whose families have given permission.

The ban was put in place by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, at the time of the Persian Gulf War. From the start, it was cast as a way to shield grieving families.

There have been several exceptions since then, most notably in 1996 when President Bill Clinton attended the arrival of the remains of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 32 others killed in a plane crash in Croatia. In 2000, the Pentagon distributed photographs of the arrival of remains of those killed in the bombing of the USS Cole and in 2001, the Air Force distributed a photograph of the remains of a victim of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.

One objection to lifting the ban had been that if the media were present, some families might feel obligated to come to Dover for the brief, solemn ritual in which honor guards carry the caskets off a plane. Few families now choose to attend, in part because doing so means leaving home and the support system of friends at a difficult time. The sudden trip can also be expensive and logistically difficult to arrange.

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerDOVER, Del. -- A US Air Force 'Carry Team' remove the remains of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va. from an aircraft during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base. Myers was killed April 4 in Afghanistan, after being hit with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said.

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerThe remains of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va. is removed from an aircraft during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base. Myers was killed April 4 in Afghanistan, after being hit with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said. This is the first time the media was allowed to cover the arrival of fallen US service since the Obama administration overturned an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning war dead.